From Iceland — White Collar Criminal With Two Jobs

White Collar Criminal With Two Jobs

Published September 18, 2012

A man convicted of illegal financial dealings and sentenced to two years in prison is working for at least two different institutions since his conviction.
Former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Baldur Guðlaugsson was, in 2008, privy to a great deal of financial information that the general public did not have. On September 2, 2008, he attended a meeting with the British finance ministry, where Icesave deposits were discussed. On September 17 and 18, he sold his shares in Landsbanki for 192 million ISK.
An investigation was launched almost immediately following the crash into Baldur’s trading, with the Special Prosecutor freezing the 192 million ISK in November 2009. Sentenced by the Reykjavík District Court in April 2011 to two years in prison, he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which upheld the district court’s verdict. He is now in prison for his crimes.
This hasn’t stopped Baldur from remaining a busy man outside of prison, though.
Currently, Baldur is one of the owners of The Public Book Society (Almenna bókafélagið), which will be working in close contact with the newly established libertarian think-tank Research Centre for Innovation and Growth (RNH).
Morgunblaðið now reports that Baldur has also been hired to work at the Lex law firm. Helgi Jóhannesson, a lawyer at the law office, said that the company was happy to have him on board, as his experience will lend a lot to the firm.
If that vote of confidence sounds familiar, it should: it is almost identical to what Erlendur Þór Gunnarsson, a lawyer for the law office Opus, said of former prime minister Geir H. Haarde when the firm hired Geir, shortly after he was found guilty of one of the four charges of negligence levied against him.

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